Housing allocations policy and scheme

4. Qualification Criteria

1. 4.1. The Council will usually only accept applicants onto the Housing Register who are in housing need.  Housing need qualifying criteria is set out in Appendix B. Applicants deemed not to be in housing need will be placed in Band E.

2. Local Connection

3. 4.2. The Council will usually only accept applications to the Housing Register from an applicant with a local connection to the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area. Local connection means that the applicant or a person who might reasonably be expected to reside with them either:
   • is normally resident within the local authority area of the Borough
   • has a local connection with the area by virtue of family association or current employment
4. 4.3. Normally resident means resident in accommodation for a period of at least three years immediately prior to an application being made. This does not include being detained in prison or resident in a bail hostel. Persons occupying holiday or other temporary accommodation (for example, hospital or student housing) are not considered as normally resident unless they can demonstrate that this has been their sole or main home for a period of at least five years. It is recognised that the residency qualify may place refugees, gypsies and travellers at a disadvantage, therefore, the Council will always consider disapplying the residence requirement in such cases. 
5. 4.4. Family association normally means that the applicant has parents, adult children, or adult sibling currently living in the Borough of Great Yarmouth and has been normally resident within the Borough for at least five years. In exceptional circumstances and where support is required family association may include extended family, each case will be determined on its own merits.  Applicants will be required to provide proof of local connection by virtue of family association.
6. 4.5. Current employment means the employment or self-employment of the applicant is physically in the Borough, for a minimum of 20 hours per week and for at least one year's duration.
7. 4.6. Local connection requirements will not apply to the following applicants:
   • existing or former members of the regular armed forces
   • bereaved spouses and civil partners of members of the regular armed forces who are no longer entitled to reside in Services Family Accommodation and the death of the spouse or civil partner was attributable (wholly or partly) to service
   • serving or former members of the reserve forces who need to move because of a serious injury, illness or disability attributable (wholly or partly) to that service
   • existing social housing tenants in England who have a reasonable preference because of a need to move to the Borough of Great Yarmouth to avoid hardship and if they work or have been offered work in the Borough and have a genuine intention to take up that offer
   • person who is or has been a victim of domestic abuse carried out by another person, who needs to move for reasons connected with that abuse, including from accommodation initially occupied on a temporary basis
   • persons who need to move from another local authority area to escape other forms of violence or harm
   • person who is an eligible child, a relevant child or a former relevant child.  Such persons are care leavers aged 16 to 24 who have spent a period of, or periods amounting to, at least 13 weeks in care in England or Wales since their 14th birthday, of which at least one day was since attaining the age of 16
8. 4.7. Not having a local connection to Great Yarmouth Borough Council will not preclude those applicants identified to be within the class of person set out in section 13.1 of this Policy from being on the Housing Register. Such applicants will be placed in Band F unless exceptional circumstances apply (see section 4.18).

9. Unacceptable Behaviour

10. 4.8. Applicants will not be accepted on to the Housing Register where it is decided that the applicant, or a member of the household with whom the applicant would usually reside, has behaved unacceptably.
11. 4.9. Examples of unacceptable behaviour could include:
    • significant  rent or mortgage arrears or breach of tenancy obligations where no attempt is being made to repay the debt or remedy the breach
    • cautioned or convicted of a nuisance, anti-social or violent offence
    • subject to an injunction or equivalent under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
    • conduct likely to cause serious nuisance, annoyance or harassment to neighbours
    • using accommodation or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes
    • fraudulent or duplicitous behaviour to obtain accommodation
    • serious damage to or neglect of a property by the tenant or other occupants
    • committing violent or anti-social behaviour, or domestic, racist or other abuse
12. 4.10. Cases will be considered on an individual basis.  The following criteria will be applied in determining whether an applicant (this includes existing Council tenants) is excluded from being able to go on the Housing Register for rehousing because of their unacceptable behaviour:
    • there must be reliable evidence of unacceptable behaviour
    • in normal circumstances the behaviour concerned should have occurred within the last two years.  In cases of a more serious nature, for example, those involving criminal prosecution, a longer timescale may be appropriate
    • there must be reasonable grounds for believing that the behaviour could continue or be repeated.  For example, the applicant may have issued threats or there might be a history of repeat offending
13. 4.11. The decision as to whether to exclude an applicant from the Housing Register on the basis of unacceptable behaviour, be this due to the applicant's behaviour or the behaviour of a member of the household with whom the applicant would usually reside, will be made by the Housing Options Service Manager.

14. Financial and Needs Assessment

15. 4.12. Persons will not qualify to join the Housing Register if they own a property in the United Kingdom or overseas.
16. 4.13. Figure 1 below sets out the financial caps  where applicants with household gross income (including benefits and interest on savings) and/or savings and assets (including equity in a property), or both, above these levels will usually be considered as not being in housing need and will not qualify to join the Housing Register.

17. Figure 1

    Dwelling size need	Annual gross income cap	Savings and assets cap
    One-bedroom	£26,000	£16,000
    Two-bedroom	£32,000	£16,000
    Three-bedroom	£40,000	£16,000
    Four-bedroom and above	£50,000	£16,000

18. Financial caps will be kept under review.

19. 4.14. In the scenario where an applicant only wishes to access low cost home ownership accommodation, the cap on household income will be raised to £80,000 gross per annum.
20. 4.15. Lump sums awarded to Armed Forces service personnel injured or disabled in action will be disregarded.
21. 4.16. The financial assessment will have regard to the financial resources of the applicant and the cost and availability of alternative suitable accommodation. Such applicants who can demonstrate that they have health or support needs that they are unable to meet in the open market will be considered on their individual merits by the Head of Strategic Housing. Examples include:
    • an older person is committed to paying for care or support costs in order to remain living independently
    • an applicant who requires specific accommodation to meet their housing needs, for example, the needs of disabled dependent children, but this accommodation is not available in the private sector.
22. 4.17. As with all other decisions made under this policy, any applicant who is deemed to have such resources as not to qualify to join the Housing Register will have a right of appeal against that decision (section 38).
23. 4.18. Where an application to the Housing Register would not otherwise be accepted on the grounds of failing to meet the qualification criteria, as the Local Housing Authority, the Council will retain the discretion in exceptional circumstances where it is considered necessary to dis-apply the qualification criteria and/or place the applicant in any other Band as set out in this policy.
24. 4.19. Any applicant who has been excluded from the Housing Register on the grounds of failing to meet the qualification criteria will be given written notice of the decision and the reasons for it and advised of their right of appeal (see section 38).